ACCURACY OF OBJECT DEPICTION AND OPACITY TRANSFER-FUNCTION OPTIMIZATION IN CT VOLUME-RENDERED IMAGES

Volume rendering is a visualization technique that has important appli cations in diagnostic radiology and radiotherapy. A methodology is pre sented for (a) evaluation of the quantitative accuracy of representati on of known objects in volume-rendered scenes and for (b) optimization of the opacity transfer function to achieve the most accurate represe ntation of a particular structure. Results using this methodology are shown for structures representing each of the major tissue interfaces and are discussed.